Page 78 of The Gathered Fragments of Us
"Your dad can grab the blankets and I'll go help with the pillows. You'll be okay for a minute?"
"Yeah, I'll be okay. Thanks Felicity," she said—a small smile starting to blossom on her face.
Caden and I walked back into our room.
"Damn, that was terrifying," he quietly mumbled.
"Tell me about it. Let's get our stuff and get back in there."
I approached the bed and pulled the pillows off, looking at them I noticed there were different cases on them. "Caden?"
"Yeah?"
Holding up the pillow from my side, I asked, "is this the pillow from the guest room that I was using?"
"Oh—um," he cleared his throat. Rubbing the back of his neck, he was looking down and, I swear he was red from his cheeks down past his neck. "Yeah. So, I grabbed the one from the guest room while you were in Miami," he said. "It still smelled like you. I actually wondered if you noticed it missing," he laughed lightly with his response, embarrassment written all over his features.
"I didn't." I looked at the bed, the pillows, and then back to him. I was touched. I felt my eyes start to water. It meant something to me that he needed me in those—that he missed me.
I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face in his chest. Still holding both of the pillows, one in each hand, they rounded to his back. I mumbled into his chest, "I missed you too," I whispered. "Every night."
We brought the pillows and the extra blankets from the closet, creating a makeshift bed on Macy's floor. It wasn't the most comfortable arrangement, but as we all got settled into our respective spots—Macy curled up against me in her twin bed, Caden stretched out below us—it felt right.
"This is nice," Macy said sleepily, her voice already getting heavy again. "Like camping, but inside."
"Yeah, it is," I agreed, stroking her hair. "You feeling better, sweetheart?"
"Mmhmm. Thanks for staying."
"Always," I whispered. "We'll always stay when you need us."
Within minutes, her breathing had evened out into the deep rhythm of sleep. I lay there listening to both of them—Macy's soft breaths above, Caden's steady breathing from the floor. My family. Our family.
"Felicity?" Caden's voice was barely a whisper.
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"I love you too."
The house settled around us, quiet and peaceful.
As I drifted back to sleep with Macy's small hand tucked in mine and Caden's presence steady beside us, I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time: complete peace. We were exactly where we belonged.
Tomorrow will bring its own challenges—therapy appointments to make, routines to establish, the ongoing legal situation with Jessica, and collecting her belongings from her mom and Brad's house. But tonight, we were together. Safe. Healing.
All of us.
Chapter 31: Macy's Things
~Caden~
I'd woken up this morning to a texts from pretty much every family member, but most importantly one from my Aunt Patty, telling me she'd arranged for a grocery delivery, and it was on the front porch. Perfect!
I quietly left the room so as not to wake Felicity and ran down to bring the bags inside so nothing spoiled. In the bags, I found the makings for pancakes, various cereals, milks, pre-made meals and sides—you name it, she sent it. My family was amazing.
Not long after, I found myself standing at the stove, groceries unpacked and the makings for breakfast unpacked and prepped, I was flipping the second batch of pancakes and bacon—Macy's favorite breakfast. I only bust out the giant cast iron griddle a few times a year, but it was worth every penny for mornings like this. I love this thing and it makes the pancakes taste out of this world. Well, that, and my super-secret recipe. The smell of breakfast permeated the kitchen, and probably the whole house by now. This was morning comfort food at its finest.
